Anyone who has participated in or sympathised with the scandalous xenophobic protests and attacks in South Africa has failed to understand this most basic message of the Gospel: God loves us all, with no favouritism. We are all equal in the eyes of God. Nobody has a monopoly on God’s benevolence and providence. God wants us all to prosper and flourish equally. The scourge of apartheid
should not be transformed into a cancer of xenophobia. Both are equally immoral.
“My Father’s house has many rooms,” Jesus is talking here about the expansiveness of God’s plan for all people, the universality of God’s grace. God’s care, concern and plans for human wellbeing extend to all people.
Everybody should be safe and saved from the
threats of hunger, unemployment, danger, political mismanagement, war, and economic collapse. Whether people find this safety in their countries of origin or in a second or third country is irrelevant in God’s eyes. What is important is that all people should have a safe home in which to thrive and bring up their families. Whether the dwelling place in which a person finds security is in South Africa or another country, it behoves us all to show hospitality to our brothers and sisters from
elsewhere on the continent.
Jesus came in order that we might have life and have it to the full. Whether or not we believe in Jesus, or belong to one church or another or none, the salvation won by Jesus is meant to unite us all to God and align us to our destiny as creatures of the same Father.
When resources are scarce, they should be shared
equally, rather than denying some people access to anything at all. With the notorious inefficiency of our Department of Home Affairs, it is not possible for all the people living in this country to be fully documented and registered. It is unfair to demand that one sector of our population comply scrupulously with the law while I proudly flout laws on road safety, taxation, construction, waste disposal, public order, domestic violence, consumption of alcohol, etc.
What is my attitude toward immigrants living among us?
How do I understand the circumstances that have brought them to South Africa?
How can I show better hospitality to my neighbours?
